URN-BELIEVABLE

DOOMED PLANE FOUND?

The 67-year-old said one of his colleagues informed the police about the graffiti on Monday.

He added: "We are worried about it.

"We like to have peace wherever we can, we always keep the peace.

"We try to make things better.

"Everyone is sad about it, everyone is talking about it.

"It's so sad, it hurts me."

North News and Pictures

The graffiti has been removed by Stockton Council workers

Stockton Council’s Care For Your Area team has removed the graffiti.

A spokesperson for Cleveland Police said: "We received a call in the early hours of today, reporting graffiti on a wall of the mosque in Westbury Street, Thornaby and have arranged to speak to a representative from the mosque later today.

"In the meantime we would reiterate that this type of activity is completely unacceptable and that we are treating it as a hate crime.

"We would always encourage anyone who believes they have been victim of a hate crime to contact us, or if they do not want to speak to police, go via the True Vision organisation."

A spokesman for the mosque told the Sun Online the building was defaced in the aftermath of the London Bridge attack, adding there was no chance of it being there before.

North News and Pictures

Thornaby Mosque's secretary noticed the slur when he arrived for prayers at 3am on Monday

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